High Heeled Clipless Shoes

I'm torn about the clips on these shoes. On the one hand, I love anything DIY. On the other hand, I'm trying to fathom why someone would need these in the first place. I mean, I get he thought the woman "the connection was awkward between the pedals and the shoes". However, is this a big enough problem to warrant busting up your shoes? It took him 18 months to do this supposedly. You train yourself to ride on the balls of your feet, which is really where its most natural to be anyway. Ok yeah I'm going to file this under "making a problem where there is none" and "Cool but ultimately unpractical projects".


The original post is on Instructables http://www.instructables.com/id/High-heel-clipless-bike-shoes/

Beer Festival

Unfortunately my camera wasn't working so I couldn't pictures of the bazillion bikes at the beer festival, but they were lined up all along the fence at Festival Beach. Totally worth the $$ to get in, as you could try 6 beers throughout the day and listen to music.

Really, any event like that it is better to take your bike. Parking around any part of downtown is difficult, although thankfully we didn't have that much trouble since we got there early.

I really want to move back up closer to that area of town. My friend and I really couldn't ride together because we were so far away. Anyway, I promise to be back with some more pictures of ATX cyclers (its a word now dammit) soon.

Friends and Bikes

I'm not an evangelist. Ok, I'm a very passive one. I put up this blog. I hope to show that getting around on a bike can be fun, enjoyable, and not a fight for your life. You won't see me handing out pamphlets in the street anytime soon.

I guess just going about my daily life has rubbed off on some people. My friend recently bought a bike, and is ready to go on rides once its cooler. (My SO and I agree she should go riding with me the first couple of times. Tales of falling off her mother's road bike have me convinced.) I want to show her how to get around safely, and have pointed her to several websites to help. In discussing her new purchase, she really wants it to ride around on for fun. It reminds her of riding around the neighborhood as a kid.

My other friend, the recipient of the Shiner Bock bike, has started getting into the bike thing. I won't take too much credit here. Her SO didn't own  a car and his bike was his primary mode of transportation. He more than anything got her into it. Discussing her new bike she said, "I rode to work the other day and it was so much fun. I'm obsessed." (This a drunken recollection, so, I'm pretty sure that's what she said.)

Getting a new bike is fun, just like getting a new car. Except when your car gets its first boo-boo, you cry. For a bike, you WANT it to look a little beat up. The wind in your hair (or the breeze around the edge of your helmet) is a great feeling. The feeling of pride you get when you ride further and further.....Ok, evangelizing over.

Dog and Duck Parking

Dedicated to all those who swear no one rides their bike in the summer. Spotted in front of the Dog and Duck  Pub in the UT area of Austin.

Seen in the Lakeline Area of All Places

My dream bike. The light blue color, the basket....everything I could ever want. Now, I saw this parked in front on the Alamo Drafthouse Lakeline. Here's what I like about it.

1. If you've been out there to that area, you know it is a nightmare to get around. Person has cajones.

2. Looks like it doesn't have gears. Not a South Austin bike fo sho....

3. It has a basket!

Here is a picture of the bike lock. I have never seen anything like it, pretty nifty. 

KVET Rant About Cyclists

I usually don't like for my blood to boil before I've even had my morning coffee. The other day though while listening to my favorite country station, KVET, my blood pressure rose.

Austin is supposedly bike friendly, but those of us who actually ride on the streets know better. Nothing exemplifies this more than the complete ease with which Bob (or Bender, I don't keep up with radio personalities, its the 2000s) spout off completely simplistic and inflammatory rhetoric on cyclists in ATX.

"It isn't the ones who train, its the ones who ride for transportation. They think of themselves as holier-than-thou, I'm saving the environment." This is paraphrased from my recollection of the show, and was in response to a cyclist who called in to complain. Now, I would have chosen a different knight in shining armor, because all this guy did was make apologies and did not call them out on their ignorance. He tried to characterize himself as "one of the good ones", while implying that many cyclists in Austin were bad seeds.

First of all, it is laughable that Bob or Bender has actually asked cyclists why they ride. Ask 10 cyclists, you'll get 10 different answers. My reasons for riding center on the enjoyability of the activity plus the cost benefits. The environment has little to do with it. Ask someone else, that could very well be their reason. That isn't to say though that they are holier than thou. That says more about Bob or Bender than it does about the person they are criticizing.

The attempt by the cyclist who called in to differentiate between "cyclists who train" and "cyclists who ride" is laughable. Mostly because it doesn't matter. If on that particular day you piss some guy off in your training gear, they are going to hate on that. You're wearing regular clothes, they are going to hate on that. All cyclists are in this together, and trying to paint yourself as a "good cyclist" does nothing for the community at large and actually makes arguments against bike infrastructure that much stronger. Why build if most of the people using it are ingrates? Why build bike lanes if they desirable ones don't use them?

Not only that, but most people are not going to get into cycling because of the Tour de France. The silly look of Lycra is just too much for many people, and then you add in the cost people pay to look that silly, and you have one niche activity. That kind of lifestyle is out of reach for most people, and it's where the uncomfortable issues of class and race come into play. Bob and Bender see mostly 2 kinds of cyclists I bet. The flashy Lycra, and the hipster. They don't see the Hispanic immigrants who ride because they have to, or the student trying to cut costs. Of course, I guess you can't expect a serious discussion from a guy called Bender. 

Downtown bike adventure

This is all the crap my SO took with him on our trip around downtown. I took my purse. 

We went to Whole Foods because I am obsessed with their bakery. He was a little paranoid because bikes are stolen from there often, even though it is a well trafficked spot. Of course, you'll find some of the most expensive-looking bikes in Austin on those racks. (I will not pretend I am up to date on the going rate for nice bikes) I believe he triple locked his bike. I had my trusty Kryptonite and mace.

It was funny seeing someone who rides only for training purposes ride for pure pleasure. He wanted only bike lanes and chided me for acting too much like a car. (But I had plenty of time to make that left turn! I really did) Obviously, I have some work to do on the baggage part, although the next time we went out he did go sans helmet.